


Oh fuck! They gettin’ married!!

by Anonymous



Series: Mother Mako and Papa Wu: Some cursed mpreg family fluff for these trying times [3]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: M/M, except it’s like less cursed this time, he has wu, momko is stressed out but that’s ok, naoki be like uwu i am two years old, the cursed shit continues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:36:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28938615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The moment same sex marriage is legalised in Republic City, Wu proposes, Mako worries and Naoki is busy being two years old and chucking rocks at windows.I bring to you: cursed momko wedding where nothing goes right and a toddler damages private property.
Relationships: Mako/Prince Wu (Avatar)
Series: Mother Mako and Papa Wu: Some cursed mpreg family fluff for these trying times [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2118915
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8
Collections: Anonymous





	Oh fuck! They gettin’ married!!

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I made up the engagement ritual for Ba Sing Se, what about it? Rings are boring and lame.

Mako misses the announcement. It happens when he’s working a case, properly in the field for the first time since having Naoki, so of course he isn’t paying attention to the news.  
And when he cuffs the criminal and books him, he’s way too preoccupied with wondering if Wu remembered to give their daughter a bath to check the news. Feels like lately all they’ve been doing is sniping at each other over parenting issues; Wu thinks Mako’s uptight, he thinks Wu’s too loose, and they’re butting heads over what kindergarten to send Naoki to, or if they should send her at all. It’s awful.  
Mako knows Wu means well, of course he does, he’d never do anything that he thinks would be bad for their daughter but also he is WRONG about so many things.  
It’s ridiculous that Mako sometimes has to remind him that Naoki needs all the nutrients; she can’t live off Wu’s weird diet shakes and protein bars. And sure maybe Mako’s a bit “overprotective” and “worries too much” but that doesn’t mean he’s incorrect! Putting restrictions on where Naoki goes is important, what if she sees something horrible, like a dead man? Or a burglary?  
Wu had argued that taking her for a walk down the high street did not automatically mean she would see a crime, and yeah, so what, he’d been right and they’d had a nice time? Mako’s points were still valid.  
So when you’re busy thinking about all of that, and how to fix a strain on your relationship, it’s normal to not look at the news for a whole day.  
And somehow completely misunderstand when a colleague says something about Mako finally tying the knot. And Chief Beifong asking him if he had any plans already in store? That’s normal. How was he supposed to know they were talking about he and Wu getting married?  
So he goes a whole day without knowing that finally, after years of campaigning, the gays are allowed officially recognised marriages.

“Where’s Naoki?”  
It’s the first thing Mako asks when he gets home. He’s used to his daughter running up to cuddle him after a full work day, so having Wu instead is... odd.  
“Um, hello to you too? I asked Bolin and Opal to look after her for tonight.”  
Mako blinks and racks his brain. Was it an anniversary? No, no, it couldn’t be. He wasn’t that bad of a boyfriend that he’d forget a big date.  
Unless he was? He had forgotten to get Wu a present for Republic City Love Day that one time. Oh shit, what if he’s the cause of their relationship strain?  
Wu tips his head, brow creased. “Babe?”  
“Uhh...” Quick, quick Mako think! “Happy, um, Ba Sing Se... Day.”  
“What?”  
Mako takes a deep breath. “Sorry! I don’t know what today is... I’m pretty sure I haven’t forgotten any anniversaries, and it’s not your birthday, and it’s not-”  
“I guess only I count it as anniversary.” Wu shrugs. “It’s no biggie. I didn’t expect you to even notice to be honest.. you were kinda stressed at the time.” He smooths Mako’s uniform, tilting his head to kiss him. “Did you have a good day?”  
“Mhm. Went back in the field. You?”  
“Well, what with the announcement, I started putting all my plans into motion. Yknow?”  
“Uh. Yes. The announcement.”  
Wu raises a brow at him. “You’re acting weird.”  
“No, no! I’m not. Let’s...” What kind of things to do on an anniversary he doesn’t remember? “Let’s go have sex.”  
Wu frowns. “I mean, if you want, but I kinda wanted to, yknow, do my thing first.”  
Ah, he’d fucked up. “Right. Yes. Sorry.”  
The diplomat guides him to the living room, sitting him on the couch. “Wait here. I’ll serve dinner.”  
“I can help-”  
But Wu had already bustled off, leaving Mako to fret.  
A date or event that Wu wouldn’t expect him to remember? And an announcement?  
It’s really panicking actually. A sudden realisation that maybe he is not a good boyfriend at all, if he’s forgotten something that Wu would make dinner for. If he’s not a good boyfriend, does that mean he’s not good at parenting? He thought he was fine, but he thought he was a fine partner too, and clearly he wasn’t.  
Maybe it’s because he’s working too much. Sure, he was only at the precinct four times a week, but he knows he brings cases home. He hasn’t even asked Wu about his day in... forever.  
Fuck, fuck, fuck, Wu is going to break up with him. Unless he won’t for the sake of Naoki? But that means he’s stuck in a relationship he’s unhappy with, and Wu deserves way better than that.  
Mako makes a promise to himself. After whatever Wu has planned for today, they’ll have a talk and he’ll apologise for being emotionally absent.  
Okay. Great.  
Then he’ll take Wu on a date. To a fancy restaurant. They haven’t been on a date in forever, so he’ll pull out all the stops. Flowers and things.  
Wu walks back in holding two plates of pasta. He sets them on the table and then takes a seat next to Mako on the couch.  
“Good day at work? How’d the first time back in the field go?”  
“It was alright.” Mako, quick, do something romantic. “I wish you were there.”  
Wu raises a brow. “You... wish I was doing policework with you?”  
“Uhh. Yes.”  
“Okay. Are you sure you’re alright?”  
“Yes! Obviously. Are you?”  
“I’m worried about you!” Wu takes Mako’s hand. “Whatever’s going on, we can postpone this. It’s okay.”  
“No, Wu. It’s fine. I’m just sorry that I haven’t exactly been a great boyfriend lately.”  
“What are you talking about?” Wu frowns. “You’re great everyday.”   
“Well, yknow, I’m working all the time, and we keep arguing, and I’m just not there for you and also I have no idea what today is! I’m just sorry.”  
“Mako. You’re always there for me, you idiot. You come home and you kiss me and you support me and I cannot imagine how I’d cope on a day to day basis without you. Literally last night, you stopped looking over your casefile because you thought something was off about me, and you didn’t leave this morning until you had the opportunity to tell me you love me. You’re such an idiot. I think you’re the best boyfriend in the world. Which is why I’m about to propose to you.”  
Mako’s brain shortcircuits at the last bit. “What? That’s illegal! Now?? But we’re just at home, I thought a proposal was supposed to be big and special and- what?”  
Wu laughs. “Okay. We’ll go through that one point at a time. Didn’t you hear the announcement today? It’s all over the news. Anyone can get married and have it legally recognised now. And I’m doing it now, because not only do I wanna marry you as soon as, but also because today marks two years since you told me you were pregnant with Naoki. And we’re at home doing something quiet because I didn’t think you liked big elaborate gestures.”  
Mako stares at him. “You wanna marry me?”  
“Yes! Obviously!” Wu cups his cheek and smiles. “I love you. So much. And I want it to be so, so official that every single person in the world knows that I am with the most handsomest man to walk the planet.”  
“W..woah. You- uh, wow.”  
Wu kisses him gently. “I was gonna do it after dinner, but seems like now is the best time. Lemme just-”  
He pulls a bracelet from his pocket. It’s silver, and there are different lines carved all over it.  
“I don’t know how much you know about how engagements work in Ba Sing Se. But, uh, I had to learn how to be really good at them, what with the whole prince thing. So this is a bracelet - made from the same silver as the knives and forks on our first date. And the lines are all about key things that have happened over the course of our relationship. This one here is our first kiss. That’s when we told our friends about us. This is Naoki’s birth. That little one there is me asking you to marry me. And... if you say yes, I get to clasp the bracelet around your wrist so that it joins up with our first date. Like a circle. Kind of.”  
Mako runs his hand along the metal, taking in each mark. He points at a small triangle. “What’s that one?”  
“Oh! That’s the time you took me to the spirit world and told me you loved me for the first time. There was a triangle shaped leaf thing on your shoulder.”  
“You made this in one day?”  
Wu flushed. “I finished it off today. I started making it after we slept together for the first time. Like, not having sex, just falling asleep next to each other. You woke me up because my alarm broke, and you knew I wanted enough time to style my hair. That’s when I knew. I want to be with you forever Mako.”  
The firebender doesn’t say anything for a while, completely awestruck.  
And Wu doesn’t push him to answer, just sits quietly and waits, because he knows him, knows he needs time to process.  
Slowly, Mako leans in to kiss him, hand cupping his cheek and eyes fluttering closed.  
Wu wraps his arms around him, and holds him close.  
They stay that way for a long time, before Mako pulls away.  
“Let’s do it. Let’s get married.”  
“Yes! Ah! Spirits, I was so worried.” Wu squeaks and tackles Mako into a big hug. “You’re my fiancé! We’re betrothed to each other. We’re gonna get married!”  
Mako laughs, and runs his hand through Wu’s hair. “Hell yeah we are. And we can do it however you want. If you want a big, massive party, we’ll do it.”  
“No. It’s okay. You wouldn’t like that. I’ll just have a giant bachelor party instead. Then you don’t have to do the talking to people you don’t know or like thing.”  
Mako sighs contentedly. “You me so well. I love you.”  
“I love you too.” Wu kisses him. “Bolin has Naoki for another few hours. That’s enough time to...”  
Mako doesn’t even let him finish, cutting him off with a kiss as he straddles his waist, hand darting underneath Wu’s shirt.  
Their pasta goes cold.

“You waited a whole MONTH to tell me you’re engaged?” Bolin sounds horrified, as if Mako has betrayed him.  
He rolls his eyes. “It’s not a big deal. We just wanted to keep it down low for a while.”  
“We?” Bolin raises a brow.  
“Fine. I asked Wu if we could stay quiet about it. Just until we had some of the details worked out, like the date and stuff. Besides, you spent three months hiding Opal’s pregnancy!”  
“Only because she asked me to. If it were up to me, I would’ve phoned you straight away. I can’t believe this!” Bolin shakes his head. “If I didn’t love you I would kick you out of this house.”  
“And make little Kiki leave her beloved Uncle Bolin?” Mako tuts. “I can’t believe you’d do that to her.”  
“Haha, I’m her favourite.”  
“Absolutely not.” Mako looks at his daughter, who’s trailing a toy car along Bolin’s living room floor.  
His brother gets down to kneel next to her. “You excited to see your mom and dad get married?”  
Naoki squints at him. “Mama marry daddy?”  
“Yes! I am probably going to give a great speech. Wait! Mako! Let Naoki do your wedding speech. It’d be adorable.”  
“Am ador-ado-adoble.” She points to herself as if to demonstrate just how adorable she is.  
“Yes you are.” Mako gets down on the floor too. “Absolutely the most adorable kid in the whole wide world.”  
“For four more months. Then my baby will be here. And will be even cuter.”  
“Don’t listen to him Kiki. You are my baby girl and you are so cute.”  
Naoki smiles at him, a ray of sunshine, and then smashes her toy car into Bolin’s leg.  
“Wh- Hey!”  
“Car blocky and no good and that - that no car and sad. Plea no block.” Naoki’s explanation of course clears up everything.  
“Sometimes, I do not understand a thing you say.” Bolin sighs, and moves his legs, to Naoki’s delight.  
“Ya! Thankys.”  
“My daughter is great at communication. A master of linguistics. Every word she says is flawless.”  
“Think your mom goggles are clouding your judgement a bit.”  
“Don’t be so critical. She’s super advanced for regular kids her age.” Mako knows he’s bragging, and for good reason. He will flex his daughter’s achievements to the world.  
“I feel like you’ve said that a million times.”  
“Not enough.” Mako stretched and caught the toy car as Naoki rolled it to him, rolling it back gently. “Are you gonna help me plan my wedding or not?”  
“W- You’re planning it? Not Wu?? You don’t like planning even tiny parties I cannot imagine you handling an entire WEDDING.”  
“He’s busier than me at the moment. Protests in the Earth States about independence and things. So he asked if I would do it, and I said yeah.”  
“Daddy in Earf Stays?”  
“Not yet sweetie. He’ll be leaving to go check it out next week.”  
“When marry?”  
“If we get everything sorted out properly? Two months.”  
Bolin chokes. “Two months? Mako that is not enough time! It takes ages to find a nice venue, let alone book one, and all the decoration sellers need advance notice so they can make enough things, and you need to find an officiator. Are you even thinking carefully about this?”  
“Yes. I am. We already have a venue. Oasis in the desert leading to Ba Sing Se. There’s a small place there, an inn to stay at, and Wu says it is very pretty. And can’t you officiate?”  
“What?”  
“You officiated Varrick’s.”  
“Only because I wasn’t too invested! What if I mess up?”  
Mako pats his brother’s arm. “You won’t.”  
“You don’t know that!” Bolin pauses. “It’s not too close to Opal’s due date right? As much as it was great to have Naoki born at my wedding, I don’t think either of us want a similar repeat.”  
“She’ll be six months. Three away from her being due. That’s enough time.”  
“Sure?”  
Mako is stopped from replying by a small rock being pelted at his arm.  
“What? Bolin! What did I do?”  
His brother tilts his head. “What?”  
Another small rock bounces off Mako’s legs. Bolin raises his arms.  
“That wasn’t me! I think-” Bolin’s arm gets hit, and it’s followed by a little giggle.  
Slowly, the brothers turn to Naoki. She smiles at them, and then moves one of the pebbles towards herself.  
With her mind.  
Mako takes a moment to comprehend what’s going on. And then he whoops, and scoops her up.  
“My baby’s an earthbender! Just like your Uncle Bolin! Are you bending? Are you earthbending? That’s my Naoki, that’s my girl, oh my spirits, you’re a bender!”  
Naoki laughs, and floats the pebble upwards.  
Bolin squeals and then floats his own pebble up to match hers. The bowl of rocks he has on the coffee table are really coming in handy.  
“I can teach you how to earthbend! We can be the uncle-niece earthbending duo, and we’ll be great, we’ll defeat everyone in the ring, this is amazing! I could teach you lavabending. Or maybe you’ll be a metalbender? Unless you’re just a solid earth-only kinda gal, which is cool too, we can do that.”  
Naoki laughs, and knocks her rock into Bolin’s.  
“You’re a natural.” Mako whispers, watching her single pebble dance around the room. Until it’s joined by four, five, six more, all swirling in time. “Did you add those?”  
Bolin is agape. “No. No, I didn’t. She IS advanced for her age...”  
“I told you! My baby girl is a genius. Aren’t you sweetie? Look at you, with your pebbles. You’re my little earthbender. So very talented.” Mako kisses her cheek, and she wriggles.  
“Earfben- bend. Look mama look!”  
Mako obeys, eyes on his daughter’s movements.  
She flings the pebbles into Bolin’s window, shattering it to pieces. Apparently this is hilarious, as she starts laughing hysterically.  
“No! No, honey, that’s wrong. You don’t break other people’s stuff. Especially not Uncle Bolin’s windows. Say sorry.” Mako breaks out his stern reprimand voice, and it makes Naoki stop giggling.  
She looks at him.  
“Say sorry to Uncle Bolin. You broke his window, and that’s not nice.”  
She twists to look at her uncle. “Sorwy.”  
Bolin smiles at her softly. “I forgive you. Now I need to go clean up those shards.”

Mako flicks through the leaflets Asami and Korra have brought him. Cake businesses, flower businesses, even fucking NAPKIN businesses.  
Planning a wedding is much more difficult then he expected it to be. He wants it to be perfect- not for him, but for Wu.  
His fiancé has agreed to let it just be a small gathering just for Mako - he needs to repay the favour at least a little bit.  
Wu likes the colours green and gold, but isn’t that a little garish for a wedding?  
“Mako, it’s not hard, just choose a tablecloth!” Asami rolls her eyes at his hesitation.  
“But-”  
“Wu clearly trusts that you’ll make a good decision, just follow your gut.” Korra doesn’t even look up from playing with Naoki, smashing their rocks together.  
“But I don’t have any gut feelings about this kind of stuff! It’s all just... whatever.”  
“Just elope like we did. Do you even need a fancy ceremony?”  
Mako looks at Asami, unimpressed. “Have you forgotten who I’m marrying?”  
“Oh yeah... Just make it really ugly and tasteless, Wu loves that kinda thing.”  
“Korra! No. I’m sure that Wu’s fashion sense, however... erratic... is well thought out. I can’t just throw something together and call it a day.”  
Asami sighs. “Fine. I’ll choose for you. Get the peach one with the gold lining.”  
“Are you stupid? That clashes with the chairs. If you’re gonna choose one at least make it something nice. Like that one.”  
Mako points at one of the options, an emerald green, with small gold decals sewn into it.  
Korra snorts. “No gut feelings about it, my ass.”  
“Watch your language.” Mako glances at Naoki. “And fine. I suppose I have some thoughts.”  
“Okay, well... I guess we’re going with that cloth.” Asami puts the leaflet to the side, and Mako bites his lip.  
“Well, yknow, it might not be the right choice, I was just-”  
“Mako. I swear, I will kill you if you double back on any decision. I will - OW!”  
A rock hits Asami’s cheek.  
“No! No kill mama.” Naoki has another pebble raised in the air in threat.  
“No, no, I was joking! Naoki, jeez, but the rock down.”  
It clatters to the floor, and Naoki looks at Mako.  
“Oh Kiki. It’s just a figure of speech. But thank you for trying to protect me.” Mako pats his lap, and his daughter comes running to curl into it. “I think you should apologise to Asami. Yeah? You could’ve really hurt her!”  
“Ap’logees.” Naoki voice is very small, and she snuggles further into Mako.  
“No problem. It’s very sweet of you to try and keep your mom safe.”  
“Yes, it is. But I should be keeping you safe! Don’t worry about me. I’ll just light Asami on fire.” Mako conjures a flame to demonstrate, before flipping open the cake brochure. “You wanna choose a cake for when me and daddy get married?”

“Guess who’s home?”  
A voice in the hallway rings out, and Mako practically jumps out of his seat.  
Wu’s home a month early!  
Naoki seems to be of a similar opinion, running out of the living room to greet her father.  
“Oop, there’s my little girl! Hey you. Loving your hair today, did mama give it a nice brush?”  
Mako doesn’t hear Naoki’s reply, but he makes his way to give Wu a kiss.  
He halts in his tracks when he sees him.  
Bandages around his arm. A patch over one of his cheeks. Both slightly stained with blood.  
“Hey Mako.” Wu meets his eyes with a strained smile. Is that a burn mark by his lip? “Missed me?”  
“Are you okay?” It’s a stupid question, he’s obviously not, but Mako doesn’t know what else to say.  
“Haha. Yeah. It’s nothing major.” Wu shifts Naoki to his hip, and clearly tries to hide a hiss of pain. His shirt’s slightly open, and there’s bandages around his chest too.  
“Nothing major? Are you serious? How many injuries are you hiding under your clothes??”  
Wu looks at Naoki, and the meaning is obvious.  
A ‘let’s not talk about this right now’ kind of meaning.  
Mako restrains himself from continuing his questioning, purely because of Naoki’s presence.   
“R-right.” Instead he walks towards him, and kisses the non-patched cheek gently. Now that he’s closer, he can confirm that there’s definitely a burn scar, from the corner of his mouth, running down to his neck.  
Mako’s never felt this enraged in his life, and Wu can see it in his eyes.  
“Daddy... why bandj?”  
Naoki points at the bandages on Wu’s arm.  
“Nothing to worry about sweetie. I’m alright. These bandages are just to make sure that my injuries don’t get any worse, okay?”  
She nods, and then claps her hands. “Daddy look! I- I can - I can do pebbly flower!”  
To illustrate her point, Naoki summons a small chunk of earth, and crudely forms it into a flower. She’s made about twenty so far, and Mako loves each and every one.  
“Spirits, you’re the best earthbender ever! What a pretty flower. Can I keep it?”  
Naoki beams and nods. “I can do mo’?”  
“More would be lovely.” Wu kisses her forehead. “Do you wanna go do that now?”  
“Yes!”  
Wu sets her down and she races off, allowing Mako to finally explode.  
“What the actual fuck Wu? Who did this? Did they get caught? Arrested? How much does it hurt? When did this happen? Do you need to sit down, rest, anything? I swear, if they’re still out there, I’ll hunt them down and gut them myself. I’ll- I’ll do anything I can, I’ll tear their head off - and I’ll-”  
“Babe.” Wu lays a hand on Mako’s arm. “It’s alright. The guy’s been put in jail. The protests turned to a riot the last few days. The governors are suppressing news coverage to make it seem like it’s all good. Turns out, there’s a massive corruption scandal, and they’ve been slaughtering any of their people who’ve tried to bring awareness to it. So, uh, yeah, the riots are pretty justified. I was helping a group of citizens who were being doxxed, and uh, some government soldiers turned up and things got ugly. I...” Wu breaks off and looks away.  
Mako wraps his arms around him. “We gotta tell Korra. She’ll sort it out. And you won’t ever get hurt again. I won’t let you. I’ll - I’ll keep you safe. Just like old times. I can be your bodyguard again, and-”  
“I tried to save a kid.”  
Mako’s breath hitched.  
“There was a lot going on. And I wanted to get the citizens away. They were a family. And their- their daughter. She can’t have been much older than Naoki. One of the soldiers - he...” Wu’s voice wobbles. “I tried to shield her. But, uh, the rocks went right through me. And, she... Mako, there was so much blood, mine and hers, and it was- I don’t even think she got to scream, and fuck, I... Mako, a little girl died because of me. If I hadn’t have urged the family to try and-”  
He dissolves into sobs.  
Mako holds him tight. He doesn’t know what else he can do.  
They stand together for a long time, Mako holding Wu steady as he cries, hand running through his hair.  
“I’m so sorry that you went through that.” Mako mumbles as Wu starts to calm down. “I’m so sorry. That’s- that’s terrible. Are her family...?”  
“The rest of them got away safely. I just wish I could’ve done more.”  
“You did all that you could babe. You did everything you were able to.” Mako kisses his temple. “All you can do now is know that you did the right thing. And you were brave. And you helped. And you’re a good person.”  
“All I could think about was if... if that girl had been Naoki. I don’t want our baby to be involved in anything like that. I want her as far away from anything dangerous, or scary, or even a tiny bit harmful. I’m never gonna let her get hurt Mako. Never. Even if I have to die to keep her safe.”  
“You won’t have to. It won’t ever come to that. Republic City’s safer than it’s ever been.”  
Wu nods slowly.  
“Do you want some tea? Some coffee? You look exhausted.”  
“We have any camomile?”  
“You’re the only one who drinks it. Yes. I’ll go make you some. You just go sit with Naoki. I’ll bring it to you.”

With Wu pretty much permanently home due to his injuries, the stress of wedding planning becomes much easier.  
It’s replaced with the stress of making sure Wu is okay.  
He seems to have just completely ignored doctor’s advice of resting, instead working tirelessly on either finite wedding details or how to optimise Naoki’s enjoyment of life.  
He hasn’t slept longer than once every few days, and Mako knows why.  
The times when he does pass out are cut short by him jilting upright, the ghost of a scream in his throat, and he shakes for the rest of the night.  
Mako doesn’t know how to help. All he can do it hold Wu, and mumble reassurances, trying to ease him into calm.  
The stitching on his chest wound split once, after Wu clawed at it during his not very peaceful sleep. The rush to the hospital at such a late time just fuelled Mako’s worry. The waterbenders couldn’t heal it. Even Korra couldn’t heal it. It was terrifying.  
Eventually, Mako figures out that a few mugs of hot cocoa help ease Wu into a calmer state of mind, and a few careful massages combined with lots of loving kisses make it easier for him to manage.  
He still wakes up a lot. But it’s easier to bring him back to reality, snapping him out of his nightmares quickly.  
Mako can only hope Wu’s feeling better by the time of the wedding.

“Are you sure you’re okay to do this tomorrow? We can reschedule. We don’t have to-”  
“Mako. I told you. It’s fine. Everyone’s already here, aren’t they?” Wu shakes his head. “Besides. Nothing can make me feel better than marrying you. Even if you think I’m ugly because of the massive scars on my face.”  
Mako huffs. Again. “I don’t think you’re ugly! I think you’re super handsome and I can’t wait to go on a honeymoon so we can get freaky every single day without worrying about childcare for two weeks. You are still very pretty, and you look smoking hot.”  
Wu makes a small noise of disagreement, and it softens Mako up.  
He traces the outline of the large wound on his cheek, and then the scar tissue from the burn. Wu certainly looks different. Much less of a stereotypical pretty boy.  
But it’s new marks to memorise, proof of how much his soon-to-be-husband has grown; Wu the Prince would never have done anything as brave as throw himself into a fight with several benders, completely unarmed, just to protect someone. And as foolish as it was, as much as it made Mako worry about what an IDIOT he’s going to marry - who enters a fight without even a small weapon?? - Wu the Diplomat is a very selfless soul.  
“I love you. So much. Even if you were the ugliest man in the world I’d still marry you tomorrow. But you are not ugly at all. In fact, I think you’re pretty attractive. And I have evidence to back up my claim.”  
Wu snorts, and kisses Mako gently. “Go on. Let’s hear this evidence.”  
“Okay, so- point one: you asked me if you wanted to wait until you were more healed so that you’d be ‘prettier’ in the wedding pictures and I said no because I think you’re pretty all the time. Point two: Naoki looks just like you, and if she had a few scars you’d think she was still lovely and cute and adorable. Point three: I love you and I care about you and a few wounds aren’t gonna change how I feel.”  
Wu responds with a smirk. “You have a crush on me so bad, that’s so embarrassing for you.”  
Mako slaps his arm gently. “Shut up.”  
“For the record, I love you too. And you’re so hot. So, so hot. I cannot wait to fuck you until you-”  
“Yeah, yeah I get the picture.” Mako rolls his eyes, before kissing him softly.

“Ladies and gents - and others - we are gathered so that we can celebrate the union of my big brother, Mako, and his stupid crush, Wu.”  
Mako rolls his eyes and Wu raises a brow at Bolin.  
“In all seriousness though, these two have been a couple for a long time, and as weird as it is... they’re kinda perfect for each other. I don’t think anyone makes Mako as happy as Wu does. And no one can put up with Wu like Mako does. They care a lot about each other, and deserve a ton of happiness together. Uh, you guys prepared vows?”  
Mako nods, as does Wu.  
“You first Wu.”  
Wu opens his mouth, and starts his sentence, but it’s interrupted by a rumbling from across the desert.  
Automatically, Mako turns to look at it. And in the distance... tanks.  
Tanks?  
There’s no war going on, that’s ridiculous, why are there tanks coming from Ba Sing Se? Maybe it’s a mistake. Maybe they’re just big cars.  
A huge piece of shrapnel is fired, landing only a few metres away from the wedding.  
Screaming ensues.  
Korra’s already moving towards him, Asami in tow.  
“Team Avatar gonna sort out this mess?” Bolin asks. He looks prepped to start a fight.  
“What’s going on? There shouldn’t be-” Mako trails off as he looks at Wu’s pale face.  
Oh.  
They should’ve known there’d be consequences to Wu outing the Earth State Government as the corrupt businessmen that they were. But to think that somehow they’d gotten a hold of their wedding date and location and were sieging it?  
Mako’s heart thumps.  
“Take Naoki, and get somewhere safe.”  
“And let you just rush off and get yourself hurt? Don’t be ridiculous!”  
“Take Naoki. Get somewhere safe.” Mako narrows his eyes as Wu doesn’t move. “Go!”  
The diplomat nods slowly, and scoops a crying Naoki into his arms, running towards Lin and Su.  
Opal waddles towards Bolin, hand on her belly. Another shot is fired, the tanks getting closer.  
“What’s happening?”  
“Uh, I don’t know. Something to do with Wu pissing off the Earth States? I need to go and -”  
Opal grabs his wrist. “Don’t you dare. I need you to stay safe.”  
“Babe-”  
“Please.”  
“It’s okay Bolin. Go find somewhere safe with Opal.” Korra cracks her shoulders. “We’ve got this.”  
Bolin doesn’t need to be told twice, hefting Opal up bridal style and hurrying off.  
“Okay. Tanks. Asami, you know anything about their structure?”  
“Uh, they’re owned by Cabbage Corp, so shittily manufactured. A couple hits to the treads should knock ‘em out.”  
“Great. Mako, you and Asami team up to deal with the one on the left. Make your way across. I’ll handle the rest. Side note: are you and Bolin just cursed to have dramatic wedding days?”  
“Not now Korra!”

Naoki’s lip trembles. She’s unsure what’s going on; one minute her parents are getting married, the next there’s an explosion, and everyone’s panicking. Daddy picks her up, and says something to Mama’s boss lady. She only recognised a few words, but maybe that’s because Daddy was talking too quickly.  
Now she’s in the back of a very bumpy truck. She can still hear the banging, and the truck is very bumpy, not like her toy cars at all.  
“You’re okay Naoki. You’re okay. We’ll keep you safe.” Daddy holds her tightly, and it’s very helpful- she is a crying mess right now after all.  
“Mama? Mama where?”  
She is truly limited by her small vocabulary. She wants to know everything. Not just Mama’s location. Why there was a bang going on, what was happening, why they’re in a terrible unfun bumpy truck when Daddy’s car wasn’t that far away.  
“Mama’s okay. He just needs to...”  
Naoki doesn’t understand the rest of the sentence. Of course not. She is two. Everything is just garbled noise.  
She herself is making garbled noise, crying and hiccuping. What else is she supposed to do?  
Where are they going? It seems very unhelpful to be going AWAY from the wedding. Unless this is how weddings are? Maybe.  
Naoki brings a chunk of dirt from the truck towards her - how old is this thing? - and concentrates, curling it out into another one of her wonderful dirt flowers. A lady leans over to her - she looks a bit like Boss Lady, but isn’t. Naoki vaguely recognises her, but certainly not on a name basis like Uncle Bolin and Auntie Opal.  
Wait. This lady looks a bit like Auntie Opal? Hmm.  
“Ooh, you’re a little earthbender? That’s... sometimes... me too!”  
That’s all Naoki can understand from Maybe-Opal’s words.  
She is a polite girl, so she nods in response, although the politeness is probably diminished with the whole ‘sobbing’ thing.  
After what feels like a very long time, the truck stops, and Daddy picks her up again, carrying her to a building.  
It’s all very overwhelming. So much is going on and Naoki’s brain is still a bit small, so she can’t comprehend any of it.  
Daddy keeps talking to her, but she wants Mama, not Daddy, Daddy is nice but he’s not Mama, where’s Mama, she needs him.  
Naoki keeps crying.

Four hours. They’ve been battling these tanks for four hours. At some point Lin and Su had shown up, reassuring Mako that Naoki and Wu were safe, and he believed them, until now, due to their pale faces.  
The tanks had altered course. Presumably towards his family.  
Where Bolin and Opal were he had no idea. There was a lot going on, and Mako’s arm hurts so much, what with the chunk of shrapnel stuck in it. Still. He has to keep moving. Stop those tanks before they get anywhere near his baby and his Wu.  
It feels like for every one they destroy, another three show up; Korra in her Avatar State is the only one doing any real damage.  
But Mako can’t give up. He can’t. He’ll fight and bleed and sweat and cry until his last breath, just to make sure his family are okay.  
To keep them safe.  
He thrusts a fireball at the tank nearest to him, trying to destroy the treads; it doesn’t work, not even when he throws more and more at them.  
He goes to spew more flames when Asami grabs his shoulder.  
“Mako stop. You’re just making your arm worse.”  
He brushes her off, and swallows down the pain. “I don’t care.”  
Really, he’s surprised his arm hasn’t fallen off. It certainly feels like it might.  
“Mako, listen to me, you’re just hurting yourself. Let Su take you to Wu. Hole up there until it’s over.”  
“But won’t that just lead the tanks to him?”  
“They’ve already located him somehow! Just go Mako. Korra, Lin and I have got this.”  
“No. You’re being ridiculous. I need to - ARGH.”  
Asami hits him with her lightning glove, knocking him unconscious.

He wakes up on Wu’s chest. Naoki’s clutching him tightly. For a second he forgets everything, until his arm throbs, and he’s reminded.  
He tries to bolt to his feet, but Wu holds him down gently.  
“Suyin told me that you need to rest. Your arm’s a mess Mako. I know you want to help, but please. Just stay here with us. Please Mako.”  
Mako looks at his kind of husband - they never actually successfully got married did they? He examines the grizzly scar on his cheek and neck, and leans back.  
“Okay. I’ll stay.”  
Wu smiles at him, but it’s wane and exhausted.  
Naoki whimpers, and Mako wraps his good arm around her.  
“Shh. It’s okay. I’m here. I love you. We’re gonna be okay.”

At some point they must’ve all fallen asleep. Mako’s unsure how long it’s been, but it’s night now, and he’s only woken up because the door’s creaked open. It’s only now that Mako registers they’re in some kind of hut; perhaps it’s the owner of the place coming to see who’s sleeping on their property?  
But then the figure’s silhouette appears, and it’s hulking.  
Reminiscent of the figure of Runaan, the Head Governor of all the Earth States.  
The man who Wu exposed as a violent, corrupt businessman.  
Mako’s breath hitches as the shadow reaches into his coat pocket, and withdraws a small, glinting object from it.  
He has a gun.  
Fuck, fuck, he has a gun.  
He’s here to kill Wu, get some vengeance.  
Not on his watch.  
Mako stands up, gently shifting Naoki from his lap to Wu’s, trying not to wake her.  
He’ll deal with this himself.  
Where Korra is is uncertain. Maybe she’s busy dealing with the whole army.  
An army that had been ordered by this asshole.  
How he still had military influence, Mako wasn’t sure. Headlines had promised that Runaan had been removed from office.  
And yet here he is. Fully armed with military power, and pointing a gun at him.  
“Stand aside. I’m only here for Wu. Take your daughter and leave.”  
Mako balls his fists. “Why are you walking free? I thought they had you arrested.”  
“With the entire Earth military behind me? Absolutely not. Now stand aside.” Runaan jabs his gun to the left to indicate where Mako should go.  
“And let you kill my husband? Absolutely not.” Mako throws some flames at him, but Runaan’s too quick, side stepping.  
“Fine. Have it your way.”  
He fires his gun.  
And Mako can’t stand aside. He can’t. Because then that bullet will go straight through Naoki and Wu.  
It’s like he’s watching the bullet move in slow motion. Breathing in his last moments of life.  
No amount of fire he throws will stop this. He just has to stand and accept his fate, trying to take solace in the fact that maybe he’s bought Wu and Naoki enough time to escape. It certainly sounds like they’ve woken up, based on Wu’s yelping.  
Mako inhales. Presumably for the final time.  
And then a massive wall of earth crashes through the wall, blocking the bullet and flattening Runaan.  
Mako looks around for Bolin, but he’s nowhere to be seen. His next thought is Korra, then Lin, then Su. But there are no earthbenders to be found.  
Save for a little two year old with a scowl on her face, waving her arms in time with the chunks of earth clamping around Runaan’s arms and legs.  
“No kill Mama!”  
Mako blinks and so does Wu.  
And then the diplomat whoops, and cuddles Naoki close. “You’re a prodigy! You’re the best earthbender ever! Spirits, you’re so strong, you protected us, you saved us, I love you, my brave, brave little girl.”  
Mako kneels down to kiss Naoki’s cheeks. “I’m so proud of you. So, so proud.”

“My hut! What have you done to my hut?” The hut owner, a middle aged man is the final obstacle after the battle. How do you explain to someone that your toddler destroyed their property to stop you from being killed?  
“Uh...”  
“That hut was my life! My home! How could you do this?”  
Korra snorts behind the man, clearly enjoying his ranting.  
It’s ridiculous. If she was the one who’d done the damage, she’d certainly not be laughing. Or she’d get off scot-free because she’s the Avatar.  
Instead she’s busy “arresting the criminals” rather than helping Mako talk himself out of this mess. For shame.  
“Sir, I’m so sorry, but-”  
“How does ten thousand yuans sound? To pay for the damages. Emotional and physical.” Wu swoops in, procuring his chequebook from nowhere.  
It has the hut owner silenced quickly, nodding before taking the cheque and running off.  
“Can we really afford that?” Mako pushes Wu gently.  
“It’s not even a fraction of our bank account. We’re good.” He examines Mako’s arm. “It healed alright?”  
“Yup. Seems like the only thing Korra hasn’t been able to heal were your injuries from that initial attack.”  
Wu sighs. “Maybe I’m just immune to healer bending.”  
“That would suck.” Mako kisses his temple. “But you’re okay, right? Didn’t get hurt yesterday?”  
“The only thing that hurts is my throat.”  
“That’s what you get for yelling about how great our daughter is nonstop.”  
“She’s legendary! Mako, she’s two, and she split a house in half. Imagine what it’ll be like when she’s an adult. Or even a teenager. She might be stronger than Korra.”  
“I know... Maybe she’ll get into pro bending. And we can be her biggest fans! We’ll attend all her matches and watch her beat people up!”  
“I reckon Bolin’s got his work cut out for him.”  
Mako’s eyes trail over to his brother, who is currently lifting boulders with Naoki. She keeps turning hers into big flowers.  
“Maybe she won’t beat people up. She might be an artist.”  
“Or a poet. She’s so good at words.”  
“I know!” Mako leans into Wu, and the diplomat wraps his arms around him.  
“I’m sorry that our wedding was ruined by a crazy person.”  
“It’s okay.” Mako kisses his chin. “I’ve never liked flashy events. Can we maybe just... go down to city hall and file a marriage certificate? No celebration. No drama. Just us, two pens, and a slip of paper.”  
“Sounds good to me.” Wu rubs his shoulders. “We’ll just have a massive party for our next anniversary.”  
“Fine.” Mako rolls his eyes. “Only because I love you.”  
“I love you too.” Wu puts his lips to Mako’s, and they stay like that for a moment.  
Until Naoki starts crying about how Bolin broke her flower, the man in question desperately trying to apologise.  
Mako goes over scoops her up, his baby earthbending prodigy, and shushes her gently.  
His wedding’s just been a big muddle of drama. And honestly? It fits.


End file.
